Conducted in densely populated areas, industrial zones and ethnic minority areas

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING SURVEY REPORT Actual Situation and Management Mechanism of Independent, Private Child Care Groups in Viet Nam (Conducted in densely populated areas, industrial zones and ethnic minority areas) Ha Noi, October 2016 VIET NAM NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES RESEARCH CENTER FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION SURVEY REPORT ACTUAL SITUATION AND MANAGEMENT MECHANISM OF INDEPENDENT, PRIVATE CHILD CARE GROUPS IN VIET NAM (Conducted in densely populated areas, industrial zones and ethnic minority areas) Ha Noi, October 2016 INTRODUCTION This study is conducted by the Research Center for Early Childhood Education, Viet Nam National Institute of Educational Sciences, with technical and financial support from UNICEF Viet Nam within the framework of the Education for Children Project for 20122016 between the Ministry of Education and Training and UNICEF Viet Nam About the Research Centre Early Childhood Education Research Centre, Viet Nam National Institute of Educational Sciences During its 30 years of development, the Early Childhood Education Research Centre (hereafter referred to as “the Center”) has made significant contributions to the development of early childhood education and the improvement of early childhood education quality, meeting the requirements of national socio-economic development through several research projects (at ministerial and institutional levels) and by implementing projects and tasks at state, ministerial, and institutional levels From its foundation to 1995, the Center carried out five state-level projects, tasks and themes, six ministerial-level themes, and 25 institutional-level themes From 1995 to 2000, the Center carried out two ministerial-level projects and nine themes From 2000 to 2012, the Center carried out seven state-level projects and one theme, 20 ministerial-level themes and 24 institutional-level themes Since 2012, the Center has carried out three ministerial-level themes and tasks and four institutional-level tasks, participated in various studies with the support of the UNICEF, PLAN and WB, and participated in the development of guidelines and capacity-strengthening courses for local early childhood teachers and administrators The Center's studies have contributed to: - Providing scientific rationale for the development of a new early childhood curriculum in line with the requirements of renovation and integration The renovation of methods and forms of educational activities, renovation of educational environments, implementation of child activities, promotion of individual and group activities, all of which have been applied in early childhood education, represent a significant step forwards in the renovation of early childhood education methodology, contributing to improving the quality of early childhood care and education in the first years of the 21st century - The studies on strategies, policies/models, and measures for the promotion of rural early childhood education and non-public early childhood education have met the needs for early childhood education development The proposed solutions to transform semi-public early childhood education institutions to other types (i.e public, people-funded, and private) pursuant to the 2005 Education Law, have contributed to providing the basis for the transformation of school types suitable to local conditions The findings on the actual situation in the field, and the mechanism for private nursery management with the goal of a mainstream and low-cost model for under-36-month-old children in densely-populated, industrial, and ethnic minority areas in this report once again affirm the Center's central role in providing scientific rationale for the steering of Viet Nam early childhood education development in the coming period About the research team and participating experts Head of the research team: Assoc Prof Nguyen Thi My Trinh, Ph.D., Director of the Research Centre for Early Childhood Education Research team: Members of the Research Centre for Early Childhood Education Participating experts: 1- Tran Thi To Oanh, Ph.D, former VNIES official 2- Luong Thi Binh, M.A, former VNIES official 3- Nguyen Thi Quyen, M.A, former VNIES official 4- Nguyen Thi Hong Thuan, Ph.D, VNIES official 5- Hoang Thi Thu Huong, M.A, former VNIES official 6- Vu Yen Khanh, M.A, former VNIES official 7- Mai Thi Mai, M.A, VNIES official TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Glossary Abbreviations Summary of the study 10 PART A General overview 14 PART B Research findings 21 I Vietnam’s policies and laws related to private early childhood education institutions 21 II Demand for under-36-month-old child care and education, and preschool capacity 29 III Actual situation of child care and education in private child care groups/centres 37 IV Private child care group/centre management managers 50 V Management mechanism for private child care groups/centres 67 PART C Impediments and measures to address impediments to the management of private cchild care groups/centres towards a mainstreaming and low-cost model 85 I Impediments to the management of private child care groups/centres in Vietnam 85 II Measures to address impediments to the management of private child care groups/centres towards a mainstreaming and low-cost model 91 PART D Conclusion and recommendations 94 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We wish to express our sincere thanks to local governments and Departments of Education and Training in Ha Noi, Lao Cai, Vinh Phuc, Nghe An, Gia Lai, and Binh Duong, including district People's Committees, Divisions of Education and Training, agencies and organizations of participating districts, preschool administrators and teachers, heads of neighborhoods, parents, hamlet and commune governments, and others, for their enthusiastic sharing of information and opinions on private child care groups/centres and their management in 12 wards and communes in the aforementioned provinces We also want to express our gratitude to the officers of the Education Programme under the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Viet Nam, who have provided us with both technical and financial support to carry out the study In particular, we highly appreciate the close guidance of Ms Joyce Patricia Bheeka, Chief of the Education Programme, and Ms Le Anh Lan, Inclusive Education Officer of UNICEF, throughout the surveying, data processing, and report drafting We are also grateful for the support of the VNIES leadership and Department of Early childhood Education, Department of Planning and Finance, Ministry of Education and Training during the study Finally, we want to extend our sincere appreciation to all individuals and organizations for their sharing of accurate and helpful information We could not have completed this study without their valuable help We hope that the research results will make a meaningful contribution to policy development and revision to ensure the best care and education for young children in Viet Nam and help to establish sustainable foundations for their future Sincerely, The Research Team GLOSSARY Private nursery According to Article of the Merged Document No.4/VBHN-BGDDT dated January 27, 2014 on the Organization and Operation of Private Early childhood education institutions,1 a private nursery is an early childhood institution under the national education system of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam founded by social organizations, socioprofessional organizations, economic organizations or individuals with the permission of competent state authorities The funding for facilities and operation of private child care groups/centres is from non-state budget sources Private child care groups/centres carry out child care and education for those between and 36 months old in line with the early childhood education curriculum issued by the Minister of Education and Training In private child care groups/centres, children are organized by age group with the maximum group size as follows: 15 pupils for 3-to-12-month-old children, 20 pupils for 13-to-24-month-old children and 25 pupils for 25-to-36-month-old children If the number of children in each group does not meet 50% of the maximum group size, they can be organized into mixed groups.2 The number of children in a private nursery shall not exceed 50 pupils.3 Family group Family groups are established spontaneously by families to meet the needs for child care and education of family members, relatives or neighboring families The caregivers and educators are usually the elderly with child-raising experience, who have free time and love children The family groups usually make communal use of family facilities and food, or sometimes receive voluntary contributions of cash or food from other members Family groups are not recognized as early childhood education institutions under the national education system Education institution management Education institution management is a set of goal-oriented attempts to influence an institution to operate in line with educational principles to achieve its educational objectives.4 Attached to Decision No 41/2008/QD-BGDDT dated July 25, 2008 of the Minister of Education and Training Articles 13 and 22 - Preschool Charter and Articles 14 and 16 - Organization and Operation of Private Preschools Article 14 of the Organization and Operation of Private Preschools Educational management science, Tran Kiem, Education Publisher 2008 Education institutions are thus under internal management (represented by the principal or head of a nursery or kindergarten) as well as under upper-level and external management (represented by sectoral management levels - Ministry, Department and Division - and local government) For effective operation, education institutions need an appropriate management mechanism Management mechanism Mechanism (mécanisme), according to Le Petit Larousse (1999), is “the way a group of interdependent elements operates.” Another definition of “mechanism” is a sequence of steps to carry out a certain task In other words, “mechanism is an arrangement in which a process is carried out”.5 Management mechanism is an arrangement to carry out management and administrative responsibilities state management mechanisms are the collaboration and coordination between relevant ministries and sectors, between ministries and sectors, the Government and government agencies, as well as the people The National Assembly drafts laws, including legislation on the organization of the National Assembly and Government agencies The Government issues decrees on the structure, organization, and operation of ministries and sectors The Minister issues documents and regulations on the management of the relevant ministry and subordinate agencies Ministries and sectors issue joint circulars on the collaborative mechanisms between those ministries and sectors The management mechanism of a given system is the management relationship in that system based on the coordination between upper-level external management and the internal management within the system to ensure effective fulfillment of management objectives Educational management mechanism includes a system of policies, principles, regulations, and regimes regulating relationships at all levels between the subject and target regarding educational activities.6 The management mechanism for education institutions is best demonstrated in devolution and delegation between levels of administration Decentralization Decentralization involves the transfer of power to lower levels to carry out actual management duties and to reduce the workload of the upper level Decentralization must associate responsibility with power clearly and ensure uniformity from the central to grassroots levels Another viewpoint regards decentralization in two directions: horizontal, based on differences within a level, and vertical, based on ranking between levels Vietnamese Dictionary published by the Institute of Linguistics in 2000 Educational management science, Tran Kiem, Education Publisher 2008 Currently, on the basis of administrative and geographic division, Viet Nam has the following government levels: central, provincial, district and commune The decentralization of state management should be understood firstly as the devolution between central and provincial governments and then between local government levels The transfer of tasks and powers can only be carried out when the jurisdiction and responsibility of the transferor and transferee have been determined (division of jurisdiction) Division of jurisdiction is a prerequisite for the transfer of tasks and powers (or to be broader, the adjustment of workload and power in line with the capacity and condition of each government level) The decentralization of state management consists of the division of jurisdiction and responsibility between government levels based on the relations of workload and nature of jurisdiction with the capacity and condition of each level to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of state management Delegation Delegation is the granting of decision-making rights from upper-level administrators to lower-level ones on matters within their power, but the upper level is still held responsible for outcomes Delegation can manifest in two forms: - Official delegation: Through the chart of apparatus organization (e.g each section has clear roles and powers) - Unofficial delegation: Through individual trust (e.g the Director delegates to a subordinate certain powers and responsibilities) For delegation to be successful, it must be carried out responsibly by both sides: the grantor and the grantee The grantor must understand himself and his subordinate, make the delegation appropriate to his roles and tasks, and review his work The grantee must recognize his responsibility to the superior when he is delegated powers, and know his limitations so as not to overstep them The grantor must set a clear command system but he should not require blind obedience from the grantee, so that the grantee can have flexibility to handle the work or even revise it if necessary The grantor should also expect and tolerate some mistakes made by the grantee Delegation needs to observe the following principles: - Principle of inspection limit: Delegation should be within practical inspection limit Responsibility and power should not be granted to others if their work and decisions cannot be inspected industrial zones and export processing zones An investor (or child care group/centre director) is, sometimes, merely a person with financial capacity to invest in this field, but he/she can work with professionals having the expertise of child care group/centre education who will be responsible in terms of professional issues + Regulation on the low requirements for child care group/centre managers or management has limited the ability to manage, monitor and support groups professionally + Some of the requirements for authorising the operation of private child care groups/centres are also difficult to satisfy, for example, the provisions on the classroom area or restroom-child ratio + Private child care groups/centres, especially those with mixed age groups, encounter difficulty in implementing the existing child care group/centre educational programme - The lack of preferential policies for children under years old impedes the equality of education for all children - The provisions on working schemes for child care group/centre teachers have not taken into account the characteristics of the job: Article of the Circular No.48/2011/TTBGDDT states that "Regarding teaching hours of child care group/centre teachers for groups of children with sessions per day, every teacher needs to teach in class hours per day, prepare for teaching and other works to ensure the total of 40 working hours per week." Therefore, on average, teachers will work hours per day In fact, the number of teachers’ working hours is higher than that as they have to arrive early to clean up and prepare to welcome children, then clean up once again after children leave, and prepare for teaching materials On the other hand, the child care group/centre teachers’ heavy responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of children has not been taken into consideration Regulations on supporting, encouraging, or reducing the workload for child care group/centre teachers have not been implemented - Policies on budget allocation have not ensured equality for children of different early childhood education institutions as the budget is only allocated for public ones, but not for non-public institutions 1.1.2 Localities - Many local industrial zones and export processing zones have specific regulations to support private child care groups/centres in accordance with Decision 404/QD-TTg, such as tax exemption and financial support, professional training, financial support of food for 87 children of workers, and financial support for public early childhood education institutions to assist private child care groups/centres Nevertheless, densely-populated neighborhoods and ethnic minority areas not have policies or specific provisions in order to support or develop private child care groups/centres - Inappropriate planning has led to the fact that the number of groups of children grows with high density, affecting the ability to develop, attract children and increase the income of the groups Many groups in heavily populated areas are operating without effectiveness - Immigrant children experience disadvantages: Some industrial zones such as Binh Duong, Vinh Phuc support the costs of lunch and education for children but only those with family registration, thus immigrant children are not entitled to any support - The policy on universalization of education for 5-year-old children is implemented properly, using all resources of teachers, facilities for children of this age, while children under 36 months of age have not been given much attention, causing inequality among children in different age groups - Regulations on the number of children per group and requirements for the establishment of private child care group/centre school have caused difficulties in planning and management since many groups in densely-populated neighborhoods exceed the stipulated number, while conditions for facilities have not been met If these groups reduced the number of children, some children would have no place to study - Lack of management guidelines in following issues which are relatively common in industrial zones and densely-populated neighborhoods: Transferance of management; one child care group/centre director managing multiple groups of children in various rural/urban district; child care group/centre managers dissolving groups without notifying local authorities; family groups operating with the view to addressing occasional needs of parents, or operating in residential areas in the form of "looking after descendants," thus therefore being very difficult to administer 1.2 Implementation of policies and regulations on the management of private child care groups/centres - Difficulties in specifying the state regulations in local areas + Industrial zones and densely-populated neighborhoods have a limited amount of land for early childhood education institutions 88 + Policies on financial support for private child care groups/centres (for example, support for land renting, house renting, deferred payment, long-term loans at low interest rate, etc.) have encountered difficulties and have not been implemented consistently The binding conditions of regulations make these policies unfeasible Many child care group/centre managers are desperate for capital loans but not satisfy financial requirements As a result, private child care groups/centres are facing a financial conflict between profitable business and quality of care and education for children + Policies on financial support for securing salaries and social welfare, social insurance, health insurance and other funds for the development of resources to improve pedagogical skills, and reward schemes for teachers, have not been implemented consistently This affects the personnel stability of private child care groups/centres, thus impacting the quality of care and education + The implementation of policies on recognizing and honoring members of management boards, teachers, and other staff at private child care groups/centres is inconsistent with that for members of management board and teachers at public schools + Due to the small number of teachers/baby-sitters with unstable schedules throughout the week, the local authorities are faced with difficulties in the organization of professional training courses ensuring the participation of all And, after the training course, staff may move to another place of employment + The propagation to draw public interest, support and participation in the education policies of non-public early childhood education institutions, and to acquire the proper understanding of its role and make contribution to private child care groups/centres, have yet to be implemented effectively + Professional support of public kindergartens for private child care groups/centres in the area DLTT is infrequent and difficult to achieve effectively - Inappropriate conditions for the implementation of the state’s policies and regulations on the management of private child care groups/centres + Human resources The number of specialized staff of the Bureau of Education and Training, and People's Committees at communes and wards is limited They have to undertake many duties in a large area, thus supervision and support for private child care groups/centres are not effective The duties and responsibilities of staff who are in charge of monitoring non-public early childhood education belong to social organizations are not clearly defined If they are 89 assigned, the inspection is merely a formality, as the inspectors not have expertise in child care group/centre education Professional capability of child care group/centre managers and teachers/babysitters is limited, thus the implementation of regulations on the management and operation of private child care groups/centres have been ineffective The inequity in working scheme, salary, social insurance for teaching staff of private child care groups/centres makes them always unstable and unable to focus on work + Finance Difficulties in attracting financial investment make many child care group/centre director unable to upgrade facilities for class groups There is no funding for individuals or organizations participating in the management and support of private child care groups/centres such as public early childhood education, officers of People's Committees or staff of social organizations) - Child care group/centre managers are not aware of the legal documents stipulating the responsibilities of stakeholders, and requirements for authorization and management of operation Therefore, they are often lack of confidence when meeting with administrative bodies They are not proactive in giving suggestions, advice on how to collaborate with authorities, social organizations, and parents to improve the quality of care and education - Limitations on the awareness of the authorities, social organizations, and parents towards management of private child care groups/centres The management of private child care groups/centres in many localities has not been given much attention by local authorities and social organizations This responsibility is assigned entirely to the Bureau of Education and Training at wards and communes Parents are not aware of their responsibilities and their right to participate in the management of care and education for children Residential communities in some areas are not aware of their responsibilities, or may even fear the detecting and of private child care groups/centres, violence, hazardous and unsanitary conditions, etc This partly stems from the lack of propagation to raise public awareness, along with the fact that the local authorities have not imposed policies to encourage, protect, and reward denouncers 90 II MEASURES TO ADDRESS IMPEDIMENTS TO THE MANAGEMENT OF PRIVATE CHILD CARE GROUPS/CENTRES TOWARDS A MAINSTREAMING AND LOW-COST MODEL 2.1 Package of measures regarding policies and administrative organization - Focus on the revision, amendment and improvement of related legal documents: + The state should review and amend a number of regulations on responsibilities and authorities of each administrative body with the view to ensuring both the appropriate decentralization and the practical evaluation, examination and supervision This can be achieved by the formulation of specific standards, criteria, and regulations on performing tasks for each body + The state’s administrative bodies at all levels should have regulations on the management mechanisms, decentralization, coordination and authorization by the state’s administrative bodies at central level, which clarify responsibilities in the management of private child care groups/centres + Issue documents regarding the coordination mechanism at local level, specifying the role, authorities and responsibilities of each organization in the management of private child care groups/centres, strengthening the role of site management and supervision for individuals and organizations in the area + Avoid single-issue documents Promulgate documents that can be used many times, such as evaluation criteria of class groups in terms of infrastructure, care, education, human resources; guidance on files and records; the educational programme for classes with mixed age groups, etc Legal guidance documents help children become proactive in self-evaluation, thus maintaining the group's operation + Remove the mechanism of agreement, approval or opinion regarding matters that are regulated by standards, procedures, conditions and decentralization + Periodically evaluate the decentralization of state management in sectors in order to make timely adjustments where necessary; revising, amending and supplementing legal documents to match realistic conditions of decentralization - Local authorities need careful planning for both public and non-public early childhood education institutions Publicizing the number of early childhood education institutions and the required scale in order for individuals who intend to open schools/groups/classes to have a basis for implementation 91 - Establish a Center for Independent Quality Assessment in to undertake examination and authorization of early childhood education institutions which apply for authorization The results obtained by the Center for Independent Quality Assessment will be the basis for the People's Committees and the Bureau of Education and to issue permits Meanwhile, there will be an annual inspection, evaluation and grading of the groups’ quality of education This will serve as the basis for administrative bodies to make decisions on commendation, reward or penalty, or even withdrawal of operation permit of the groups - Impose more demanding requirements for the expertise of child care group/centre managers as the manager of private child care groups/centres + Differentiate and separate the two roles of a child care group/centre director as an investor (currently only lower secondary qualification is required) and a child care group/centre director as a professional managers of the group (currently only child care group/centre pedagogical certificate is required, with a minimum training course of 30 days) By separating the role of an investor (child care group/centre director), it will be possible to attract people who have the financial ability but not the expertise on child care group/centre education to establish private child care groups/centres + Impose more demanding requirements for professional qualifications of the child care group/centre director as a person in charge of professional knowledge at private child care groups/centres The child care group/centre director should at least have a qualication of early childhood education pedagogy at the intermediate level - Satisfy the needs of trainees by enhancing the inspection, examination, and supervision to assess and classify private child care groups/centres; identify prioritised issues during the inspection, monitoring, and consulting for private child care groups/centres in order to operate effectively; determine appropriate training time and contents to meet the needs of each group, not impose any personal opinions, and deliver a fixed content for all training courses - Develop policies and regulations to ensure that the salaries and social insurance of teachers and staff at private child care groups/centres have the same minimum as teachers and staff at public early childhood education Provide guidance documents supporting child care group/centre managers in addressing issues regarding health insurance and social insurance for teachers and staff at private child care groups/centres - Develop policies to provide support for children under years old to ensure the equity with children above years old, regardless of which early childhood education 92 institutions they are studying at Provide preferential education mechanism for immigrant children to ensure equity with children having family registration 2.2 Package of economic and technological measures - Develop policies to provide support regarding capital (for example, land leasing, house renting, deferred payment, long-term loans at low interest rate) for private child care groups/centres to solve the biggest problem at the moment, which is the insufficiency of facilities at private child care groups/centres - Support teachers to obtain social and health insurance in order for them to be able to feel secure, enhancing their commitment to child care, ensuring the stability in personnel of private child care groups/centres, and thus contributing to reducing the cost that parents have to cover, and improving efficiency of care and education for children= - Support training and retraining courses to improve pedagogical skills of teachers and staff at non-public early childhood education institutions Provide training on professional management for child care group/centre managers, especially financial management - Carry out annual commendation and reward schemes for child care group/centre managers and excellent teachers of non-public early childhood education institutions equal to those for members of management board and teachers at public ones - Develop resources for professional training (via websites, Facebook, etc.) in remote areas through up-to-date topics that are necessary to help members of management boards and teachers to manage and utilize information, interact with each other, and exchange views on issues of interest - Promote the application of information technology in the management of private child care groups/centres 2.3 Package of measures regarding human resources and society - Conduct targeted propagation to attract public attention, support, and participation in developing education policy for private child care groups/centres and gain an understanding of their role and contribution - Organize training courses for community and social organizations on care and education for children under 36 months - Encourage pedagogical schools, early childhood education institutions, and high quality private child care groups/centres to participate in training and retraining for teachers and staff at private child care groups/centres 93 - Develop associations of non-public early childhood education institutions with the view to establish connection, provide consultation, professional support, and personnel sharing to its members for the development of non-public ones PART D CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS I CONCLUSION 1.1 The need to send children to early childhood education institutions exists in localities, especially in densely-populated neighborhoods and industrial zones Nevertheless, public and non-public instittutions reflect different levels of satisfaction of that need Private child care groups/centres play a significant role in contributing to reducing and satisfying the high demand for child care group/centre care, while public schools cannot (especially for children under 24 months of age) The majority of the private child care groups/centres successfully performed care and education tasks, ensuring safety for children Nonetheless, the quality of education for children has not been focused, especially issues such as facilities, quality of personnel, policies and regulations applied to teachers and staff at private child care groups/centres Ensuring a suitable cost for private child care groups/centres is a difficult task as the rate deemed affordable for people may not meet the requirements for the sustainable development of the groups 1.2 The management of private child care groups/centres have been considered, supported, and administered by authorities during the course of group establishment, especially the Bureau of Education and Training at districts and the People’s Committee at wards and communes However, the management of these groups remains ineffective, especially the coordination, decentralization, and authorization of management In fact, the decentralization of tasks is not consistent with the decentralization of authority, financial management responsibility, or human resources, among other things Recently, the decentralization of tasks have mostly been implemented, but there is a lack of regulation on the conditions for task performance This it has led to unnecessary confusion, especially in lower-level authorities 1.3 Ministry of Education and Training and the Department of Education and Training at provincial and city levels have much correspondence requesting localities to enhance the management quality of non-public institutions, and to pay special attention the authorization for private child care groups/centres in the area However, most of the authorities at 94 provincial and city levels often assign the responsibility for supervision and management of private child care groups/centres to the education sector, causing many difficulties for the education sector in the coordination with the local authorities and social organizations 1.4 Decentralization is inappropriate to the situation in localities, and particularly incommensurate with the capacity of lower-level authorities It is the fact that in many areas, decentralization of tasks is implemented too quickly, while the lower-level authorities are not capable, especially the management officials lack in both quantity and quality (for example, at district Bureaus of Education and Training, the People’s Committee ward levels, and public early childhood education institutions) Decentralization has not taken into consideration local conditions and the socio-economic situations In fact, decentralization can not be implemented simultaneously and identically between localities, but needs to take into account local conditions in order to ensure effectiveness 1.5 Decentralization has not been coupled with improvement of planning quality, strengthening inspection, and supervision from the higher authorities, or attached authority to specific responsibilities The authorities have not been serious about self-reporting or selfexplanation, and a mechanism to ensure consistent management of the higher authorities are not available For example, a mechanism for monitoring and evaluation is vital in order to make timely decision on necessary adjustments, while a mechanism for processing the reports of the lower level authorities is fundamental to ensuring effective decentralization Promoting decentralization and the responsibility for self-determination will only be carried out effectively when the mechanisms for coordinating information between management, supervision, and evaluation have been designed II RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 For the central government: - The state should provide guidance on the state management for province, district, and commune levels, from operational management to the support of private child care groups/centres In addition, the state should impose regulations on the coordination between departments and social organizations in this field, attaching the responsibility of local authorities to the management of private child care groups/centres, thus allocating joint responsibilities in the operational management of private child care groups/centres The rate of children mobilized to enjoy care and education at early childhood education institutions needs to be included in the criteria for local 95 competition (at province/district/commune levels), thus increasing the rate of children studying at non-public institutions - The state should revise and amend regulations on the responsibilities and authority of each administrative level to ensure the decentralization of management, while guaranteeing two-way inspection and supervision - State and local administrative bodies should increase control and make periodic inspections, especially surprise inspections of private child care groups/centres’ operation, to detect and penalize any violation, and to suspend the operation of private child care groups/centres which not guarantee proper conditions for care and education They should publicize the quality of private child care groups/centres via loudspeakers at ward meetings, residential groups, villages, or hamlets Corresponding to periodic inspections by the higher authorities, the state should also request local leaders to undertake assessments and seek opinions of child care group/centre managers, and of the management and support of care and education - The state should adopt policies and schemes in order to provide support regarding financial and human resources for private child care groups/centres with decentralized and shared responsibilities and resources from all levels of administration and social entities, to an appropriate extent for each region - The state should provide interdisciplinary coordination mechanisms to adjust the regulations and conditions for loans and land leases in line with the capability of child care group/centre managers in order for the state’s support policies to be implemented - The state should adjust the work schedule and subsidies for teachers at public and nonpublic early childhood education institutions - Develop appropriate education programs and guidance documents regarding care and education at private child care groups/centres with mixed age groups, and also regarding care and education in family groups 2.2 For localities - Localities should research and analyze their own situation to select pilot models of implementation to remove impediments to the management of private child care groups/centres (with an appropriate schedule) 96 - Every locality should promote the role of residential groups, families, and residents in monitoring private groups and classes violating regulations or committing violence towards children, or not being able to ensure children’s safety - People's Committees at the ward and commune levels should assign more specific responsibilities for departments and social organizations, increasing their autonomy and inspecting the operation of the groups of children on a regular basis In weekly ward meetings, departments and social organizations need to report on the current operation of private child care groups/centres - Wards/communes must promote child rights advocacy, and disseminate information on child care, education, and safety to parents and the community 97 FOOTNOTES Report on the situation and management mechanism for private child care groups/centres in Chu Se, Gia Lai of Chu Se Division of Education, July 2015 Report on the situation and management mechanism for private child care groups/centres in Lao Cai of Lao Cai Division of Education, July 2015 Report on the situation and results of under-36-old child care and education in early childhood education institutions in Binh Duong, March 2015 Report on the situation and management mechanism for private child care groups/centres in Ben Cat, Binh Duong Report on the situation and management mechanism for private child care groups/centres of Thoi Hoa ward People’s Committee, Binh Duong Report on the situation and management mechanism for private child care groups/centres of My Phuoc ward People’s Committee, Binh Duong Report on the situation and management mechanism for private child care groups/centres in Phuc Yen, Binh Duong, July 30, 2015 Report on the situation and management mechanism for private child care groups/centres (as of August 2015), Trung Nhi ward People’s Committee, Phuc Yen, Vinh Phuc Report on the situation and management mechanism for private child care groups/centres, Hung Vuong ward People’s Committee, Phuc Yen, Vinh Phuc (2015) 10 Directive No 09/CT-TTg dated May 22, 2015 of the Prime Minister on promoting measures to address early childhood education institutions and classes in industrial zones 11 Action plan to carry out Conclusion No 29-KL/TW of the 8th plenum of the 9th Party Central Committee on “Fundamental and comprehensive renovation of education and training to meet the requirements of industrialization and modernization in the context of socialist-oriented market economy and international integration”, Lao Cai Party Committee, 2013 12 (10th) Draft of the Project “Improving the quality of child care and education for children between and 36 months old in 2015-2020”, Vinh Phuc People’s Committee, April 2014 98 13 Overall plan to carry out the Project “Supporting and developing private child care groups/centres in industrial zones and export processing zones to 2020”, Binh Duong People’s Committee 14 Conference planning the development of education and training in Gia Lai in the 2012-2020 period towards 2030 15 Early Childhood Education Charter, attached to Decision No 14/2008/QDBGDDT dated April 7, 2008 of the Minister of Education and Training 16 Decree No 29/2008/ND-CP dated March 14, 2008 of the Government on industrial zones, export processing zones and economic zones 17 Decree No 115/2010/ND-CP dated December 24, 2010 stipulating the responsibility of state management on education 18 Decree No 36/1997/ND-CP and Decree No 29/2008/ND-CP of the Government 19 Decision No 4040/QD-TTg dated March 20, 2014 of the Prime Minister on Supporting and developing private child care groups/centres in industrial and export processing zones to 2020 20 Decision No 41/2008/QD-BGDDT dated July 25, 2008 of the MOET on the standards of private child care group/centre managers 21 Decision No 41/2008/QD-BGDDT dated July 25, 2008 of the MOET on the Organization and Operation of Private early childhood education institutions 22 Circular No 28/2011/TT-BGDDT dated July 15, 2011 of the Minister of MOET on amending and supplementing a number of articles in the Regulations on the Organization and Operation of Private early childhood education institutions 23 Circular No 32/2012/TT-BGDDT dated September 14, 2012 on the list of outdoor equipment and toys for early childhood education institutions 24 Circular No 02/2010/TT-BGDĐT dated February 11, 2010 on the list of minimum equipment, toys and teaching materials for early childhood education institutions 25 Circular No 13/2010/TT-BG on the regulations for child safety and prevention of injury in early childhood education institutions 26 Joint Circular No 22/2013/TTLT-BGDDT-BYT dated June 18, 2013 on the evaluation of health care in early childhood education institutions 27 Circular No 09/2009/TT-BGDDT dated May 7, 2009 of the MOET on the public regulations for education institutions under the public education system 99 28 Merged Document No 05/VBHN-BGDDT, dated February 13, 2014 on the Early Childhood Education Charter 100